Animal Man by Jeff Lemire Omnibus

Animal Man (2011) #1-5

by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman (Illustrator)

Presenting the Eisner Award-winning writer Jeff Lemire's New York Times bestselling two-and-a-half-year run on Animal Man.

Meet Buddy Baker: Everyman. Family man. Animal man.

Armed with the unique power to take on the abilities of any animal, Buddy is a hero-turned-activist struggling with the challenges of being a husband and father.

When his four-year-old daughter, Maxine, suddenly starts exhibiting her own disturbing animal-based powers, Buddy begins an odyssey that will change his and his family's lives forever! In the world of Buddy Baker, nothing is ever as it seems.

Animal Man by Jeff Lemire Omnibus features the stunning artwork of Travel Foreman (Immortal Iron Fist) and Steve Pugh (Vertigo's Animal Man), along with Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire), Timothy Green II (Annihilation: Conquest--Starlord) and more. Collects Animal Man #0-29, Animal Man Annual #1-2, and Swamp Thing #12 and #17 along with a brand-new introduction by Lemire and more than 80 pages of behind-the-scenes artwork in the making of this modern classic.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

816 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 2019

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Matthew WK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth a read, but I don't think it's worth owning. I'll be selling my copy as I don't think I'll read it again. Most likely the least favorite thing I've read from Lemire. After discussion with some friends around this it became clear how some of the characters powers are really undefined or defined and then broken. Long and a bit wordy in places. That said, this does come after reading Grant Morrison's Animal Man run just two months ago and it's probably nearly impossible to top. IMO, I can easily recommend Morrison's run as a buy and would say skip this one.

[Highland G · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the multiple stories very disjointed. There were far too many artists and lots of story and art inconsistencies.
Over the premise of a horror animal man story where his daughter is more connected than him is a great one but sadly the mixed focus ruined it as a collected read.
I enjoyed some of the parts much more than the whole and the tail end of the story really drags on.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was an undertaking.

Lemire's work is my first time reading Animal Man, and for large portions of this series, the story works almost as a stand alone rather than an interconnected piece of the DC Universe (with the exception of Swamp Thing) who is closely tied to this story.

And I've read the first handful of issues before now, but I still forgot just how much body horror goes into this character (or at least this version of him). It's delivered with great style across the various artists who worked on these issues, but it's certainly not your standard superhero visuals.

There are essentially three connected story arcs across Lemire's run, along with a bit of connective tissue. The first is the strongest, showcasing distinctive artwork and Lemire's focused specialty of character and family-driven storytelling.

The second arc spinning directly out of the first is significantly more epic in scope. It trades some of the heart of the storytelling for the grandness of the conflict, but even on a large scale, this creative team knows how to deliver.

And just when all seems settled, a new enemy arises, drawing the heroes back into the fray one more time while also resolving pieces that remained from past adventures. (With one notable exception in the form of a plot thread I really wanted more resolution for).

Overall, it's dark, it's gruesome, and it's a wild dose of super-powered adventure. Even for Lemire's early work, his emotionally-engaged storytelling shines through, while a range of distinctive artists leave their lasting marks on these characters as their exploits come to life.

It's a striking series, well worth the time it takes to read as poor Buddy Baker risks it all, just to try and keep his family safe.

[Andrea Butini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non conoscevo questo personaggio e mi sono buttato sul volumone Omnibus solo perché mi piacciono le storie di Jeff Lemire.
Ho trovato proprio ciò che cercavo: una storia dark, con un sacco di body-horror, adulta, con temi e valori un po' sopra la soglia delle normali run dei supereroi secondari pesta e picchia. Qui si parla di famiglia: amore, responsabilità, lutto e perdono (degli altri e di se stessi).
Infatti, nonostante si tratti di un personaggio DC molto poco conosciuto, Buddy Baker ha l'enorme pregio di voler essere, prima che un supereroe, un uomo normale: un padre e un marito. Tutte le difficoltà affrontate non fanno altro che fargli desiderare solo la tranquillità per la sua famiglia, e il tema famigliare prosegue dall'inizio alla fine senza essere mai pesante, mai scontato, e sempre ben narrato.
Inoltre, altro pregio davvero non male, l'enorme storia racchiusa in questo Omnibus può esser letta come stand-alone, inizia e finisce e non è necessario conoscere Animal Man. Il tutto risulta comprensibilissimo, anche se un po' di conoscenza di base dell'universo DC farebbe godere maggiormente alcune chicche.
Davvero tanto consigliato a chi, come me, è curioso di allargare gli orizzonti a supereroi secondari e interessanti.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more a fantasy horror comic disguised as a superhero book and I love it. It doesn't even really try to give that front though and it just goes straight to that crazy gore and fantasy elements. The characters are so clear and I really felt all the drama they went through. It feels so human while still creating this interesting and crazy world. The world itself feels so stylized and special, all the characters are so unique in their design, it's so cool. I loved that the lettering changed per character making my brain give them different and like special voices. I also really love the connections it makes to the world of Swamp Thing too, it makes so much sense and it just feels like such natural development for the character. The last issue is so beautiful, Jeff Lemire coming in for the art was so wholesome and wonderful.

[Amanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy is Animal Man, his powers are the powers of any animal. He has access to a dimension called The Red, from there he can pull out the power to run as fast as a cheetah, or fly like an eagle, or move as slowly as a sloth if that somehow helped him. He's sort of king of The Red, that is until his daughter starts to display the same powers.

She is on track to be the new "avatar" of The Red, as its inhabitants call it. Buddy is excited, his wife is scared to death. Being a superhero comes with a lot of danger afterall.

Continue to the full review: https://amanjareads.com/2021/10/21/an...

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After an opening run that is up there with some of the best horror titles in the DC/Vertigo world, Animal Man settles down into a comfortable, slightly unconventional superhero story. Lemire’s writing is excellent, and the myriad artists breathe life into these characters and story.

[JT · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 * I liked what Lemire did with the Baker family. Very true and very emotional. The build up for Rot World was done well in my opinion. I love the horror that was told with this story; however, the actual event of Rot World wasn't so great.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
On the off chance you read my animal man review, I mentioned being initially stunned that there was a DC superhero, who was an anti meat animal rights activist. You could have literally knocked me over with a feather when I heard it. Naturally I ordered the books that very instant and absorbed the run as soon as it arrived. Morrison's Animal Man run is often hailed as one of comics greatest. And whilst my enjoyment of the books certainly didn't extend to such lavish praise, I found a considerable amount of enjoyment out of them, though ultimately couldn't reconcile what they were, with what I wanted them to be. Now, having just finished Lemire's run, I can safely say, I 've found a little bit ore appreciation for what Morrison did, as despite Lemire's seemingly best effort, he hasn't been able to live up to the legacy Morrison created.
Now, straight off the bat, these two runs are literally polar opposites. If the two books didn't share the same name, and a few of the main characters, you wouldn't have a snowballs chance of knowing they were the same thing. Whereas Morrison's run was quaint, familiar and introspective for the most part, Lemire went for something bold and brash. Something cosmic in its reach. Its expansive structure pulling from all across the DCEU. This was the first taste I've had of something dealing with such an extended universe, and I must say, I didn't really care for it. Now, this is more to do with Lemire's interpretation of it within the confines of Animal Man, than any general dislike of the multitude of characters that appear here. Many of these characters making an appearance are great in and of themselves. But Lemire just seems willing to throw them in willy nilly. Whether this was his idea or editorials I don't know. But I can only judge what's in front of me. Its unnecessarily messy and convoluted, and frankly, pretty shit at times. The book stared out fine enough, although once it became a superhero role call, and the plot started to verge into some pretty far out territory. I found myself tuning out. The villain of the month beat em up thing will never be my cup of tea. This was truly the weakest element within this arc. Animal Man feels to me like it should always be a character study. Something more like a meta exploration of the superhero, rather than the typical good guy/ bad guy fodder were served up here. The greatest issues of Morrison's Animal Man were bathed in existentialism, intelligence and oftentimes, restraint. Lemire perhaps wisely doesn't try to outdo Morrison in this way, although whenever he verges near to this territory, he makes himself look very much second rate by comparison. I lamented their not being more 'animal rights' in Morrison's run, although there was certainly a reasonably strong ethical message, owing no doubt to Morrison's own personal beliefs. I can only imagine Lemire doesn't share these views, as the book almost wholly shuns this angle, preferring instead to take things down a path that flirts with a rather bog standard horror angle, more than anything else. In fact, this story could have been told, and would have been better told utilising a protagonist other than Animal Man. It just doesn't feel like him at all. It was a decent enough idea, averagely executed, and dragging a rather wonderful character down into mediocrity in the process.
The art is a big point of contention for me. The opening artist, who handles the first few issues took some getting used to. Although once I was, I rather fell for his offbeat, scrappy style. The artist that followed complimented his style well, and all was going well for a while. Until somewhere around a third of the way through, a revolving door of artists come on board, and stay for the remainder of the run. Now, none of these artist were ever that bad. Most of them were quite good in fact, although the sheer haphazard nature of the artwork of this run had me wishing for some consistency. It just really dragged me out of the story, which was something of a struggle to get into at the best of times, especially mid-arc when these musical chairs started rearing their heads. And Lemire's choice to pencil half of the closing issue was little more than sheer pretention. After the revolving door, the last thing we needed was another change mid issue, especially for Lemire's less than stellar style. That, and the sub par ending, which utterly failed to move me on the close of the run, and when put next to Morrison's final issue, was just altogether a bit pathetic, not to put too fine a point to it.
In closing, Animal Man will never be the comic I would like it to be, no matter who writes it. It will never have as much animal activism as I would like to see, until I get off my ass and maybe write one myself. But Lemire utterly failed to even give me a smattering of this aspect of the character. Instead choosing to give us his aforementioned interesting, yet benign run. I really would have liked to score this higher. I really wanted this to be something I would return to. Something I could recommend to others. I really don't think I can do any of those things. 3.25/5

OmniBen.

[Cid]

I WANT TO READ THIS SO BADLY OH MY GOD

[Vesselin Metodiev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume One: The Hunt - 4/5
Volume Two: Animal vs Man - 4/5
Volume Three: Rotworld: The Red Kingdom - 3/5
Volume Four: Splinter Species - 2/5
Volume Five: Evolve or Die! - 3/5

[Lillian Francis]

#1. creepy. And I don't like the art (Travel Foreman).
#2 - 5. Yeah, really not liking this storyline. Not helped by the hideous art.
So far: 2 stars.
#6 That was a pointless issue. Art is still awful. I’d stop reading but I think it’s important for Swamp Thing to read this too.
#7 - 8. I'm skimming now.
#9 - 11 still skimming
Annual 1 - cat tells Maxine a story

[Britton]

Animal Man is one of those characters who gained new life as one of the characters reinvented by the British Invasion in the late 80s-early 90s for DC Comics (later Vertigo.) Grant Morrison penned the most memorable run on this character, or at least it's the one everyone remembers anyway. Like Alan Moore on Swamp Thing or Garth Ennis on The Punisher, Grant's touch on the character was so distinct that it can't be removed. Jeff Lemire came into the picture and could have easily done a riff on Morrison's run and few would have likely noticed, unless you're a die-hard Lemire fan like me who would be yelling about how he can, and should, do better than that.

Yet, luckily he didn't do that. Lemire definitely has elements of metafiction and the commentary that everyone remembers from Morrison's run, with some particular potshots at the shallow nature of fame, as well as some references to previous Animal Man runs of old laid in there, but it's more subtle. In all honesty, Lemire's take on Buddy Baker and his family felt more reminiscent of Moore's Swamp Thing, with its focus on the esoteric The Red and body horror elements. Also like Moore's run, Lemire's Animal Man even takes a turn into dark fantasy by the time of the run's close. But this book is in Lemire's voice and never loses sight of it along the way. It even has the emotional thread that hallmarks many of Lemire's best works as well, while combining that with the superhero fun of DC Comics' vast universe.

The strongest part of this run is easily the family drama. Lemire just loves families and he's often found writing about them. What makes Buddy Baker an interesting character in particular, and one that has him fit Lemire's sensibilities is that he's just a regular guy, albeit one who gets roped into wacky superhero shenanigans. Lemire takes it a step further as Buddy juggles his responsibilities as an avatar to The Red, his family life, his superhero life, and as a celebrity. But Lemire never forgets to ground his character, making him a perfectly relatable everyman that most people can get behind. It also helps that Buddy's family is just so damn likable, Buddy's relationship with his daughter was a highlight. It was really sweet and even quite touching, especially as the end of the run came.

Also memorable is the trippy, surreal, and sometimes creepy artwork of some of Lemire's collaborators, particularly from Travel Foreman and the legendary Steve Pugh. I'm saddened that Foreman hasn't worked with Lemire more (and I'm still mad that DC didn't let them take on The Doom Patrol), as his technique and the subtle 'wrongness' that he brings as an artist compliments Lemire's style well. I don't know if he reaches Andrea Sorrentino's levels of creative synchrony, but he and Lemire make a good duo, and Lemire makes as much use as he can of Foreman's talents. Pugh brings a more conventional superhero style, with fast-paced action and suspense, while still grounding himself in Lemire's more personal approach. There's also some strong work from American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque and the late, great John Paul Leon as well.

There are some weaknesses that hold it back from being on par with some of Lemire's best outings. The actual Rotworld arc he did with Scott Snyder felt somewhat rushed. It was better paced than Snyder's Rotworld for his Swamp Thing run, there were still some issues that kept me from fully connecting with it. That said, it felt like Lemire really began to shine once the Rotworld arc came to an end. In particular, there's a tragedy that rocks the Baker family and the fallout of that event is some of the strongest bits of writing from this run, as Lemire doesn't hold back in depicting grief in a raw, sometimes brutal manner. It also gets better as Lemire introduces more fantastic elements to the run as he goes from body horror to dark fantasy. Lemire also utilizes the often underused Brother Blood, reimagining him as an adversary of Buddy Baker.

But back to the weaknesses, there's also a sense of incompleteness with this run, sad as it is to say. There are threads Jeff introduces that never fully get resolved. I hear that it was because DC cancelled the run, but I am left unsure. If it's the case, I can't say I'm surprised if Jeff had to end things prematurely. Lemire Interrupted, if you will. Fortunately, the ending Lemire gives us is very strong, in his usual touching, oddly folkloric, bittersweet way that he likes ending things.

Nonetheless, it was sad to see it go, as I would have loved to see where else Jeff would have taken the character of Buddy Baker. Even I can imagine a few avenues Jeff could have taken had DC let him finish the run on his own terms. But this is what we were given, and what we got, I can't say I was dissatisfied with.

[Mariano · Rating 5 out of 5]

En realidad es un 4, pero le pongo 5 porque hay mucho review mala leche. Esto es mucho mejor de lo que podría haber sido. En general estoy pensando que el New 52 se odió mucho en su momento (esta serie era "pasable" en esa época) pero envejeció MUY bien. Y esto está bueno. Es divertido, muchos problemas, mucho body horror y transformaciones deformes que no se ve en el mainstream yanqui muy seguido (tal vez es algo que DC quería meter en esa época porque Swamp Thing lo tiene también) y una historia que es sobre Buddy Baker pero es un poco más sobre Maxine y la familia y cómo es un problema ser superhéroe y tener una vida. Y las vueltas cósmicas en The Red. Sobre el final la parte sobre el Bridgewalker se siente como un gigantesco Deus Ex que no va con el tono de la serie, pero se lo perdonamos. Tal vez la tuvo que cortar antes, andá a saber.

Y el nivel de dibujantes de toda la serie es dignísimo. Travel Foreman y Steve Pugh como los principales, pero cuando había que meter fill-ins aparecen Albuquerque, John Paul Leon, Timoty Green II, está muy bien. Recoremos que el Animal Man de Morrison tenía al muerto de Chas Truog, aunque todo el mundo finja demencia y piense que Bolland dibujaba todo. Vamos gente, dejemonos de joder.

Muy recomendado esto.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only previous experience with Animal Man was in the pages of the seminal Morrison run on the character. I am happy to say I believe this volume to be every bit as good.

Lemire is on the top of his game here as a writer, but Foreman's artwork really elevates the story to another level. The story often involves body horror and grotesque imagery, and Foreman does a fantastic job.

Lemire writes Buddy Baker as a family man who is also trying to do his best to help the world, who quickly finds himself out of his depth as great and powerful evil threatens his family. Lemire has a talent for quickly creating characters that in only a few panels begin to take on life and depth beyond the 2-D images we see. By the end of the story Buddy's daughter Maxine became one of my favourite DC characters.

Lemire expands the mythology of Animal Man in a way reminiscent of Gaiman's work on Sandman and the Kingdom of the Dreaming. So fans of mythology and world-building will likely enjoy this book.

The crossovers with Snyder's Swamp Thing were also great and a necessary inclusion in this collection.

This story has depth, it has tragedy and loss and is completely human in its telling. A real masterpiece and one of the best things to come out of the New 52 period.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Animal Man by Grant Morrison this was a nice expansion of the character. It is very different tone wise, with more world building that helps the character become more independent, however I do miss the B-List superhero element from Morrison’s run, though that does come back into focus towards the end.

The run itself ties into Scott Snyder’s Swamp Thing run for the Rotworld saga, and while that isn’t required reading I would say it helps, since some Rotworld plots are concluded in Swamp Thing issues not included here. Other than that though the book doesn’t have any other crossovers which I found quite refreshing as the bulk of the focus is on Buddy and his family.

The run itself deals with a lot of important themes and going any further holds spoilers. It is quite violent, but less so than Swamp Thing. There is some animal cruelty so if that puts you off I might suggest skipping it, though save for one instance in the early issues I wouldn’t say it’s gratuitous.

Overall I’d say this is a must read if you’re a die hard DC fan interested in something a bit more supernatural. Though keep in mind it’s tying into New 52 Swamp Thing at the same time.

[Kirilov Katsura · Rating 5 out of 5]

No he leído el Animal Man de Grant Morrison.
Espléndida lectura con un dibujado algo extraño al que, con el paso de los números, aprendes a querer y ya no quieres soltar.
Buddy Baker crece en el lector a lo largo de los 5 volúmenes que comprende la run de Jeff Lemire. Hay escenas épicas; también hay escenas conmovedoras. Hay de todo. Victorias y derrotas. Pérdidas.
Curiosamente, le leí en paralelo al Swamp Thing de Scott Snyder, pues sus mundos se cruzan en un crossover que culmina en el volumen 3 de ambos cómics; pero mientras el Swamp Thing de Snyder era épico y grandilocuente, el Animal Man de Lemire era más íntimo, miserable y maravilloso. (El Swamp Thing de Snyder no es malo, en ningún caso).
Cada número es bueno. Los hay excelentes.
Épica, intimidad; superhéroe y hombre de familia: Animal Man de Jeff Lemire.
Imprescindible.

[R. Codey Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when it first came out in comic book format and loved it. It was in my pull folder at the local comic shop.

I've now reread it and still loved it, but not quite as much.

It's basically two connected stories: the first being The Red versus The Rot, and the second one being a tale of a corruption within The Red.

The first story is 5 stars. The body horror elements are top notch and Lemire's writing is fantastic.

The second story is lacking, and the final battle between Buddy and Brother Blood literally lasts one panel. The horror isn't as present, and there are several threads left hanging that I wish were resolved.

But hey, when a company tells you that you're book is coming to an end soon, what can you do? I don't know the story behind that, but I assume the run was closed out the best way the writer knew how, albeit rushed.

4 stars.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a great book, that I did not want to put down throughout the first half. The second half was weaker, but I still read everything in two sittings total.
The main problem with the story is the villains, who are not intriguing or very interesting - just bad guy want to do bad thing. Everything else carries it, though. Lots of artists throughout the book, for better or worse. Some of it’s great, some just okay, but overall good. The body horror, especially in the first third or so of the book, is excellently done. I also enjoyed seeing a lot of pencilled and inked pages in the back of the book, which makes it easier to see a lot of the details that were harder to notice in the colored pages (especially in the darker, very red scenes).
Recommended!

[Zachary Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this series was excellent especially from Travel Foreman, Steve Pugh and Rafael Albuquerque. High amount of body horror throughout this series which is welcomed and expected with Animal Man. I appreciated the additional context leading into the Rot World crossover with the Swamp Thing series at the time (written by Scott Snyder). It’s more of an Animal Man story and reads better having the Animal Man issues leading up to the crossover. The story drops off a bit in the final arc but then wraps up nicely in a final issue that also feature art by Lemire. This is another solid series from the New 52 and one I am happy to keep in my collection.

[TheMadReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up because I enjoyed Animal Man by Grant Morrison.

After giving the first 5 issues a try, I had to put it down as this just wasn’t my cup of tea. Nothing like the Morrison run as I knew it wouldn’t be but I wanted to give the new 52 Buddy Baker a shot, simply just not for me.

Too much going on with the artwork as well. Just too much overall with some really bad writing. Didn’t care to know what happens whatsoever.

Regret the buy, might just give it away to a local library.

[Nick Gregorio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal Man may be the most versatile superhero ever. Depending on the creative team, he can go anywhere, be anything, do absurd and extraordinary things—but at his core, he’s a husband and a father with a wild day job. Jeff Lemire is at his best when that’s the DNA of any story he’s telling. This is not Morrison’s metaphysical meta-textual, legendary run. But it’s brilliant because it’s all heart and love and family and gore and body horror. Just excellent.

[Rocco Ricca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book. Lemire does a fantastic job at creating his own path with the character, stepping away from the shadow of Morrison's run. With rotating artist, books tend to have a downward spiral wirh art, that's not the case here. While none of the artist live up to Travel Foreman at the start, all the artist are great throughout.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible start that is hampered by the it’s inclusion in the larger universe. Without going into spoiler territory, the Rotworld crossover is great in theory but made muddled by the necessity of dealing with its effects on the DC Universe. The brilliant tone and characterisation seriously suffers here but it’s still well worth a read.

[Joanna P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So perfect in every way. Warning for a whole lot of body horror, which can be used solely for shock value/disgust in other works, but for this context it is tasteful and makes sense for the storyline and transformations. Love this version a lot more than Morrison’s. It gets rocky near the end to keep up with the changes but that doesn’t affect my opinion of the work as a whole.

[Craig W · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was at its best after the Rotworld event, approximately 2/3 of the way through. It seems as if the event dragged down its potential. This is amongst my least favourite Lemire material, who is usually a 4-5 star writer for me.

[Emmanouil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this after finishing Grant Morrison run and i appreciate the bits reffering to that run. To my opinion this run was more exciting and enjoyable and i found the artstyle very much to my taste. Overall it was a pleasant read and i would recommend it to all vivid comic readers.

[Tyler Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite books I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely incredible reinvention of the characters. The use of cosmic and body horror is visceral and the art is gorgeous. Jeff lemire is a fantastic author, I bought his moon knight run and can’t wait to read it.

[Joshua]

Holds up pretty well. What the heck is Animal Man up to these days anyway?

[Russell Berg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lemire is such a good writer but I guess he felt handcuffed by the superhero thing? This was bad.